Rebuilding Connection. Restoring Trust.
At Vida Relationships, we specialize in results-driven tools that transform relationship struggles and rebuild the relational bridge. Whether you're feeling disconnected, stuck in conflict, or overwhelmed by anxiety or past trauma, we’re here to help.
We believe your relationship doesn’t have to fail — and you don’t have to live with relationship pain. With the right support, couples and families can move through even the toughest seasons and come out stronger, more connected, and more resilient.
OUR SERVICES
Transformative Relationship Counselling Services in Vancouver
At Vida Relationships, we offer compassionate, expert couples counselling, family therapy and online couples counselling services for individuals and relationships who want to heal, grow, and reconnect. Our services are rooted in attachment science and trauma-informed care, so whether you’re facing relationship struggles, personal challenges, or the lasting effects of trauma, our team is here to support you with care, skill, and deep respect for your unique experience.
Couples Counselling
If you and your partner are feeling disconnected, our couples counselling helps you explore the emotional patterns beneath conflict, rebuild trust, and strengthen your bond. Rooted in attachment science, our therapists offer practical tools and compassionate support to improve communication, deepen intimacy, and foster lasting connection in your relationship.
Family Therapy
Our family therapy services supports healing by strengthening bonds, resolving conflicts, and improving how you relate to one another. We create a safe, respectful space where everyone can share openly, feel heard, and work together to understand each other better — building deeper, healthier connections for the whole family.
Individual Counselling
Individual counselling supports you in working through personal challenges that affect your wellbeing and relationships. Our therapists offer a safe and accepting space to explore your feelings, heal from past experiences and promote emotional regulation, enhanced satisfaction and healthier relationships.
Discernment Counselling
Discernment counselling supports couples at a crossroads, offering a safe space to explore feelings and clarify the future of their relationship. Our therapists provide guidance to help you make informed, relationship decisions about healing, growth, or separation with clarity and care.
We are Matt & Carly
Hello!
We are a husband and wife team with over 20 years of experience helping individuals, couples, and families from diverse backgrounds heal and reconnect. Leading a skilled, compassionate team of Couples Counsellors in Vancouver, we create a safe, affirming space that respects all identities — including gender, sexual orientation, culture, ethnicity, ability, relationship structure, and more.
We are committed to helping people identify and shift the negative patterns that keep them stuck — patterns often shaped by stress, trauma, or disconnection. Our work is trauma-informed and rooted in attachment science and research-backed tools that help you understand the deeper emotional needs beneath conflict, and guide you toward creating safe, secure bonds with the people who matter most.
About Us
Find Your Perfect Match
Meet with Any of Our Therapists—Free Consultations, No Pressure
At Vida, we’re committed to helping you find the right therapist for you or your relationship's unique needs. We know that a strong client-therapist match is essential for meaningful progress, which is why we offer a free 20min consultation. This gives you the chance to connect, ask questions, and ensure it feels like the right fit—before committing to ongoing sessions. Your comfort and confidence in the process matter to us.
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"It’s Not About the Dishes (But Also, It Kinda Is)"
VIDA PODCAST
Love Actually...is hard.
The VIDA Podcast
WITH CARLY GOODFELLOW MA, RCC &
MATT TURNER RTC
FEATURED EPISODE - Coming Soon!
"It’s Not About the Dishes (But Also, It Kinda Is)"
COMING SOON
Love Actually…Is Hard is the podcast where we (Matt & Carly, therapists and co-directors of Vida Relationships) say the quiet part out loud: relationships are hard. Beautiful? Absolutely. But also confusing, triggering, and occasionally dishwasher-argument-inducing.
Questions You May Have
Here are a few common questions that may help you get a better sense of what to expect. If there’s anything else you’re wondering about, you’re always welcome to reach out.
01
What is the difference between couples counselling and marriage counselling in Vancouver?
Couples counselling and marriage counselling generally refer to the same thing. Both offer a space for partners to better understand what is happening between them, work through difficult patterns, and build a stronger, more connected relationship. You do not need to be married to come to couples counselling. At Vida Relationships, we welcome people who are married, dating, engaged, common-law, or in other relationship structures, including polyamorous and consensually non-monogamous relationships. We work with couples and partners of all genders, sexual orientations, identities, cultures, and backgrounds. Whatever words you use to describe your relationship, the focus is on helping you understand one another more deeply and create a relationship that feels safer, more secure, and more fulfilling.
02
Do you offer online couples counselling outside Vancouver?
Yes. We offer online couples counselling to people throughout British Columbia and Alberta. Sessions take place through a secure video platform using Jane App. All you need is a private space, a reliable internet connection, and a device with a camera. In-person sessions are also available at our Vancouver office on West Broadway. Online counselling can be a helpful option if you live outside Vancouver, have a busy schedule, live in different locations, or simply feel more comfortable meeting from home.
03
What relationship issues can couples counselling help with?
Couples often come to counselling because they feel stuck in the same painful pattern, even when both people care deeply about the relationship and genuinely want things to feel different. We support couples and partners with recurring arguments, communication breakdowns, emotional distance, trust concerns, intimacy difficulties, parenting stress, blended family challenges, major life transitions, and the impact of anxiety, depression, trauma, or attachment wounds on the relationship. You may feel more like roommates than partners, find that small conversations quickly become tense, or feel unsure about how to reach one another anymore. You do not need to have the problem clearly figured out before reaching out. A free 15-minute consultation gives us a chance to hear a little about what is happening and talk honestly about whether we may be a good fit for you.
04
How does couples counselling work at Vida Relationships?
In your first full session, we will begin learning about your relationship, what has brought you to counselling, and what each of you is hoping might change. We are not there to decide who is right or wrong. Instead, we help you slow things down and understand the pattern that has developed between you. Our work is informed by Emotionally Focused Therapy, attachment theory, and trauma-informed care. Together, we explore what may be happening underneath conflict, defensiveness, withdrawal, or disconnection. Often, these reactions are connected to deeper fears, longings, protective responses, and unmet needs for safety and connection. As these patterns become clearer, you can begin finding new ways to communicate, respond to one another, and build more emotional safety in the relationship. We will check in regularly about how the counselling is feeling and whether the work is moving in a direction that feels meaningful to you.
05
Is online couples counselling as effective as in-person relationship therapy?
For many couples, online counselling can be just as meaningful and helpful as meeting in person. Some people find it easier to settle into the conversation when they are in a familiar space and do not need to manage travel, parking, or a commute. We use the same thoughtful, attachment-focused, and trauma-informed approach whether you attend online or in person. What matters most is that everyone has privacy, feels reasonably comfortable with the format, and is able to be present for the session. Online couples counselling is available throughout British Columbia and Alberta. In-person appointments are offered at our Vancouver office.
06
How many sessions of couples counselling will we need?
There is no set number because every relationship has its own history, strengths, hurts, and hopes. Some couples begin noticing meaningful changes within several sessions. Others benefit from longer-term support, especially when they are working through betrayal, trauma, attachment injuries, longstanding disconnection, or patterns that have developed over many years. We will talk openly with you about your goals and regularly review how the work is progressing. You are not locked into a particular number of sessions. The pace and length of counselling will depend on your needs, what you are working through, and what feels helpful to everyone involved.
07
Do both partners need to attend relationship counselling?
Ideally, both partners attend couples counselling together because the relationship itself is the focus of the work. Having both people present allows us to slow down what happens between you and help each person feel more clearly heard and understood. Sometimes one partner is not ready or willing to attend. Individual counselling can still be helpful in that situation. It can support you in understanding your own patterns, communicating more clearly, setting boundaries, and gaining clarity about what you need from the relationship. There may also be times when your couples counsellor suggests meeting with each partner individually for one session. This will always be discussed openly beforehand and approached with care and transparency. For polyamorous or consensually non-monogamous relationships, we can talk together about who should attend and what format would best support the concerns you are bringing to counselling.
08
Is couples counselling in Vancouver covered by insurance?
Couples counselling is not covered by BC’s Medical Services Plan. However, many extended health benefit plans include coverage for counselling with a Registered Clinical Counsellor or Registered Therapeutic Counsellor. Carly Goodfellow is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC). Matt Turner and Jennifer are Registered Therapeutic Counsellors (RTC). Receipts are provided after each session so you can submit them to your insurance provider. Every benefits plan is different, so we recommend checking your coverage before your first appointment. You may want to ask whether your plan covers sessions with an RCC or RTC and whether counselling is covered when you attend together.
09
When is the right time to seek marriage or relationship counselling?
You do not have to wait until your relationship is in crisis. Many couples reach out because they feel stuck, distant, or tired of having the same conversation without getting anywhere. Others come because something has happened that has shaken their sense of safety or trust. Some couples are not facing a major crisis at all, but want to understand one another better and strengthen their connection. It may be a good time to seek counselling if you are arguing about the same things repeatedly, avoiding important conversations, feeling lonely within the relationship, struggling with trust or intimacy, or finding that even small discussions quickly become tense or overwhelming. Sometimes the clearest sign is simply that you care about one another but cannot seem to find your way out of the pattern you are in. Counselling can help you slow that pattern down, understand what is happening underneath it, and begin creating something different together.
10
Are your Vancouver couples counsellors trained and registered?
Yes. The therapists at Vida Relationships are trained, credentialed, and registered with their respective professional associations. Carly Goodfellow holds a Master of Integrative Psychotherapy and is a Registered Clinical Counsellor with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors. Matt Turner and Jennifer Harrison are Registered Therapeutic Counsellors. Our therapists take part in ongoing professional development and have additional training in areas such as Emotionally Focused Therapy, attachment, trauma-informed care, and working with complex relationship patterns. We know that reaching out for couples counselling can feel vulnerable. Our intention is to offer a space where all partners feel respected, welcomed, and supported, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, identity, cultural background, or relationship structure.
CULTIVATING SELF-CARE IN RELATIONSHIPS
Download Our Free Resource Guide
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